Washington Post Makes Important Correction to Romney Hit Piece Without Notifying Readers
It is customary when a newspaper makes an after-publication correction or change to an article for it to notify readers that an alteration has taken place.
Some time after the Washington Post published a 5000-word hit piece on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney Thursday, a key edit was made to the article without such a notification.
The original piece mentioned the following:
"I always enjoyed his pranks," said Stu White, a popular friend of Romney's who went on to a career as a public school teacher and has long been bothered by the Lauber incident. "But I was not the brunt of any of his pranks."
The eagle eyes at Draw and Strike have a screen-cap of the original article verifying this.
CBSNews.com reprinted the original article at 12:59 PM Thursday. The paragraph in question still appears in its original form on page 2.
A crack in this part of the story emerged when White was interviewed by ABC News Thursday. At 2:02 PM, the following was published at ABCNews.com:
White, in an interview with ABC News, said that he is “still debating” whether he will help the campaign, remarking, “It’s been a long time since we’ve been pals.” While the Post reports White as having “long been bothered” by the haircutting incident,” he told ABC News he was not present for the prank, in which Romney is said to have forcefully cut a student’s long hair and was not aware of it until this year when he was contacted by the Washington Post.
So the Post initially wrote that White "has long been bothered by the Lauber incident." According to ABC News, White "was not aware of it until this year when he was contacted by the Washington Post."
As such, the Post made a change to its piece now visible at the website on page 3:
“I always enjoyed his pranks,” said Stu White, a popular friend of Romney’s who went on to a career as a public school teacher and said he has been “disturbed” by the Lauber incident since hearing about it several weeks ago, before being contacted by The Washington Post. “But I was not the brunt of any of his pranks.”
At press time, there is absolutely no acknowledgement of this alteration at the beginning or end of the Post's piece.
On top of this, the correction doesn't square with what White told ABC News.
"He has been 'disturbed' by the Lauber incident since hearing about it several weeks ago, before being contacted by The Washington Post," claims the edited Post piece.
But according to ABC News, "he was not present for the prank, in which Romney is said to have forcefully cut a student’s long hair and was not aware of it until this year when he was contacted by the Washington Post."
Who's right?
Seems the folks at the Post might have some additional explaining to do hopefully this time with an acknowledgement that changes have been made to its original piece.
It will also be interesting to see if other news outlets quick to jump on this story will also mention this correction as well as what ABCNews.com published late Thursday evening:
The older sister of Mitt Romney’s former high school classmate said she has no knowledge of any bullying incident involving her brother and the GOP presidential candidate. [...]
Christine Lauber, who is a few years older than John Lauber, was at college when the alleged incident happened, and said the brother and sister were “doing our own thing” at the time. [...]
Betsy Lauber, one of John Lauber’s three sisters, spoke with ABC News Tuesday night regarding the accuracy of the story.
“The family of John Lauber is releasing a statement saying the portrayal of John is factually incorrect and we are aggrieved that he would be used to further a political agenda. There will be no more comments from the family,” she said.
Seems to be a lot of holes in this hit piece.
Let's hope they get as much attention as the smear job did.
- Noel Sheppard's blog
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Comments
Film at 11....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 9:14am.
or something.
What other "horrible" acts will be uncovered? Pot smoking, coke snorting, associating with known terrorists? Probably not.
The correction
Submitted by DeclinesToState on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 9:10am.
reveals the obvious motive of this "news" paper.
Smells like a giant steaming pile...
Submitted by BBallleaper on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 9:15am.
of Washington Compost MACACCA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This travesty of journalism
Submitted by motherbelt on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 9:18am.
This travesty of journalism is also being covered by Breitbart and Hot Air and will probably appear soon at other places too.
Did they really think they would get away with this?
They are simply shameless.
Ohhhhhhhhh How Rich
Submitted by donabernathy on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 10:01am.
The worst President evah....
wants to run against a pimply faced high school kid.
well watch out..... I guess when ya got no record..... or such a dismal record ..... a pimply faced high school kid might not be that easy.
roflmmfao
Anybody who can't see that
Submitted by Pewah on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 10:07am.
Anybody who can't see that this "bomb" regarding Romney was strategically played at a time when the Obama camp calculated backlash against the president's announcement that he had finally evolved as a person to the point that he was now pro-gay marriage (desperately needed gay fund raisers to rally to the cause), should just stick to reading the cartoon section of the newspaper.
I expect hit pieces against Romney or any other politician during an election cycle. What should not surprise me, but has, have been the "Romney, the bully" pieces that even local news stations have been running. Some of them actually played melodramatic music in the background as they explained the haircutting incident. There was no simple, objective statements given of the facts. Instead, many news outlets tried their best to create a mood, utilizing dramatic graphics and somber music that were absolutely on par with past coverage of Columbine, 911, or the Challenger disaster. In a couple of cases a fluff piece regarding Obama's conversion to gay-marriage ran immediately before or after the damning Romney stories.
Not only that
Submitted by KornKing on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 10:28am.
I expect this type of stuff will be gradually dribbled out over the course of the next 6 months, 1 or 2 lines a week, stuff like "Romney took a whiz behind the barn while at a party" , anything to keep the focus off having to discuss King Urkel's record and intentions.
October Surprise
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 11:22am.
My guess for the October Surprise is a concerted attack by the MSM on Romney's religion, Mormanism. It will all be couched in terms of "seeking the truth", but it will be the ugliest thing we've seen in a long time.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
What a bunch of Ace-
Submitted by mejay on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 10:34am.
Hulls at the Post! Bet they defended Obama on Rev. Wright. Wish I knew what the Obama was up to during his school daze.
Rasmussen: Obama trails Romney by 7%
Submitted by celator on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 10:35am.
Drudge is reporting a backlash against the president which shows up in the latest Rasmussen poll released this morning. As you look at the poll trends over the last few months, you can easily see Obama is trending down and Romney is trending up. I think this will continue for the duration of the campaign.
The Washington Post and the rest of the MSM are sealing Obama's defeat in November as they continue to promote this fraud. If I were Obama I'd be pretty ticked off at the MSM for the damage they are doing to Obama.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administra...
Meanwhile
Submitted by Model850 on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 11:24am.
Would-be king Hussein admits in his book (yeah, right) he bullied a girl and physically assaulted her by pushing her. Maybe that's where the first shot was fired in the so-called "war on women."
Is the media interested in this confession? Uh, cue the crickets.
If i wasnt a Romney
Submitted by misterbee241 on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 11:40am.
supporter before I sure am now. I hope this goes up like an exploding cigar in all their faces - Barack, the DNC and their controlled media.
I'm ahead of you. I've always liked Romney! I saved...
Submitted by jawebster1 on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 12:32pm.
my Romney for President sign from 2008.
It is now displayed in my window for all my liberal neighbors to see. (I live in the liberal hive of Santa Barbara.)
I tuned into Glenn Beck last week. He had a back and...
Submitted by jawebster1 on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 12:27pm.
forth with one of his staff. It started out mild like if you found out Mitt Romney did such and such would you still vote for him over Obama? It kept escalating to something like if you found out Mitt Romney was an "axe murderer" as a young man would you still vote for him over Obama? The answer to all the questions was a resounding yes!
If this high school incident involving Romney is all they got, they are wasting their time. If anything, I think it helps him. It makes him seem more like us and a little less like Ward Cleaver, the person the libs are always trying to compare him to.
Noel, are you sure the WaPo deleted Stu White...
Submitted by Conservator on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 12:24pm.
comments? I just read the hit-piece and White's comment is still on the print version of article:
“I always enjoyed his pranks,” said Stu White, a popular friend of Romney’s who went on to a career as a public school teacher and said he has been “disturbed” by the Lauber incident since hearing about it several weeks ago, before being contacted by The Washington Post. “But I was not the brunt of any of his pranks.”
Mitt Romney’s prep school classmates recall pranks, but also troubling incidents
Conservator, as Noel points out...
Submitted by Jer on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 12:36pm.
that is the quote as subsequently revised by the Post.
Here is how it was originally published:
"I always enjoyed his pranks," said Stu White, a popular friend of Romney's who went on to a career as a public school teacher and has long been bothered by the Lauber incident. "But I was not the brunt of any of his pranks."
...which made it appear White had been aware of and bothered by the prank for many years instead of only a few weeks.
Jer
Thanks Jer - My Bad
Submitted by Conservator on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 1:39pm.
I understand the point you are making, but I still don't see much difference between the edits with the exception of The Post trying to cover their butts.
Originally published:
"I always enjoyed his pranks," said Stu White, a popular friend of Romney's who went on to a career as a public school teacher and has long been bothered by the Lauber incident. "But I was not the brunt of any of his pranks."
Revise edit:
“I always enjoyed his pranks,” said Stu White, a popular friend of Romney’s who went on to a career as a public school teacher and said he has been “disturbed” by the Lauber incident since hearing about it several weeks ago, before being contacted by The Washington Post. “But I was not the brunt of any of his pranks.
I believe focusing on the comments of the family of John Lauber makes a stronger point against the shameless Post's hit piece like the article below:
Family of alleged Romney bullying victim says portrayal is 'factually incorrect' - May 11, 2012
But thanks again for correcting my comment Jer.
PS: I just read they following article by Kyle Drennen at NewsBusters and I it focuses on John Lauber family:
NBC Reports Romney Bully Story Labeled 'Factually Incorrect' By Family of Alleged Victim
You're very welcome, Conservator
Submitted by Jer on Sat, 05/12/2012 - 4:50am.
I've defended the Post several times in the past, but this piece was pure horsesh!t--petty, of little relevance, not to mention the shocking inattention to facts.
Truly inexcusable on so many levels.
Jer
Uh oh...I suppose dscott will show up soon to torch me for my "of little relevance" remark which suggests the article was somewhat relevant. :-)
Nah. But we have some best of MD.
Submitted by The Vet on Sat, 05/12/2012 - 1:29pm.
Ah, Jer regularly, and automatically, pooh-poohs any ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Sun, 04/15/2012 - 2:21am.
talk of an armed rebellion or possible civil war down the line.
He's a lefty, a lawyer, he likes Obama, and, he thinks if things aren't quite peachy-keen right now, it will all work out just fine in the end because:
1. It always has.
2. The "threats" (armed rebellion) by conservatives - why, that's all just a bunch of prattle, anyway.
3. A liberal Democrat is in the White House - what could possibly go wrong with government.
4. Obama may not be a "protector" of the 2nd Amendment, but he certainly has done nothing thus far in his presidency to indicate he won't adhere strictly to the lines laid out the U.S. Constitution, for the betterment of ALL of us citizens.
5. There is absolutely NO possibility of a civil war anything like that of 1861-1865 because Obama has brought race consciousness to a level in this country that even the most hopeful liberals, or jaded conservatives, would have, or could have, imagined.
'Nome sayin' ?
MD
Get well soon buddy. Uncle Jer and we all miss you.
I believe
Submitted by nolefan2 on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 1:20pm.
this kind of garbage journalism will continue throughout the entire campaign. It doesn't matter what despicable things BHO is found to have done, they will unwaveringly throw their support behind him. There are none so blind as those who will not see and none so corrupt as those who will lie when the truth is right in front of their eyes. The media knows what he is and they just don't care.
Thanks For The Link Noel
Submitted by manofaiki on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 1:42pm.
Gladdens my heart to see how fast we on the Right can hit back at these smear jobs now. As recently as 2009 the Left was still getting away with hatchet jobs like this, but it looks like we've organized and gotten connected to the point we can almost instantly answer their latest attempts.
I'm manofaiki here but started my new blog as 'Draw and STRIKE! 2 months ago. Been a long time reader of Newsbusters, so awesome to be able to make a contribution.
Follow me on Twitter if you really want to! ;)
@drawandstrike
My blog:
drawandstrike.blogspot.com
One of the conspicuously unintelligent and uninformed questions
Submitted by Rush Fan on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 5:21pm.
and answers I heard today regarding the Washington Post hit piece on Romney sadly ( it's sad because I have much respect for both of them) came from Fox News Megyn Kelly and contributor Bernard Goldberg:
MEGYN KELLY: Why do you think the Post took an interest in this? I mean, why would they be interested in Mitt Romney doing this back when he was 17 years old?
BERNARD GOLDBERG: Yeah. The honest answer is I don't know.
I kid you not. Megyn Kelly and Bernard Goldberg do not understand why the Leftist Washington Post ran a hit piece on Romney that went back to his high school days.
Johnny Dollar has the VIDEO. The aforementioned question and answer begins at the 4:40 mark.